Salicylic Acid Gel

ABSTRACT

A concentrated salicylic acid gel comprising salicylic acid and a stabilizer compound, wherein the salicylic acid comprises at least 30 wt % of the total weight of the gel.

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/789,780, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/615,956 filed on Mar. 27, 2012. Both applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a concentrated gel of salicylic acid, andproducts produced therefrom.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Salicylic acid, also known as 2-hydroxybenzenecarboxylic acid, is amonohydroxybenzoic acid. Its salts and esters are known as salicylates.Salicylic acid has the formula:

Salicylic acid is also known for providing pain relief when applied as aliniment, for example

Salicylic acid is used in many skin-care products. For example,salicylic acid is well known for its use in anti-acne treatments. Inaddition to the treatment of acne, salicylic acid is also used inproducts for treatment of psoriasis, calluses, corns, keratosis pilaris,and warts. It works as a keratolytic, bacteriocide and comedolyticagent. Salicylic acid is also used in shampoos for treatment of dandruffand as a chemical exfoliant.

Salicylic acid can cause burns if applied in high concentrations.Typically, over-the-counter limits are 2% for topical treatments (thatremain on the skin) and 3% for cleansers or shampoo (products that arewashed off.) Higher concentrations (e.g. up to 40 wt %) may be used forwart removal but should be applied cautiously and only to the wart andnot the surrounding skin.

Salicylic acid is poorly soluble in water. It is therefore difficult toprepare solutions of salicylic acid that remain precipitate-free.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a concentrated salicylic acid gelcomprising salicylic acid and a stabilizer compound, wherein thesalicylic acid comprises at least 30 wt % of the total weight of thegel.

The present invention is further directed to a dilute salicylic acidsolution comprising the concentrated salicylic acid gel and a solventwherein the concentration of the salicylic acid in the solution is 25 wt% or less.

The present invention is further directed to products prepared with theconcentrated salicylic acid gel or with dilute solution of the gel inwater.

In one aspect the salicylic acid gel is combined with ingredients toform a body or hand lotion. In another aspect the salicylic acid gel iscombined with ingredients to form an anti-dandruff shampoo. In yetanother aspect the salicylic acid gel is combined with ingredients toform wart medication. In yet another aspect the salicylic acid gel iscombined with ingredients to form an anti-acne medication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the invention are directed to a concentrated gel of salicylicacid and at least one stabilizer compound selected from nitrogencompounds.

The concentrated gel comprises at least 30 wt % salicylic acid, forexample 30 wt % to 60 wt %, or 40 to 55 wt % salicylic acid, based ontotal weight of the gel.

The concentrated gel comprises the stabilizer compound in an amount of40 to 70 wt %, or 45 to 60 wt %, which is an amount effective to providestability to the salicylic acid in the gel.

The concentrated salicylic acid gel is formed by mixing salicylic acidwith the stabilizer compound until the salicylic acid is dissolved inthe stabilizer compound. No water or solvent such as ethanol is includedin the gel. There are only two components that form the gel: thestabilizer compound (complexing agent) and the salicylic acid.

The mixing of the salicylic acid and the stabilizer compound may be doneat room temperature. Alternatively the mixing may occur at an elevatedtemperature such as up to 50° C. Generally mixing takes about 30 to 120minutes.

The concentrated gel may then be stored for future use. Since the gelcontains very concentrated salicylic acid, less storage space isrequired than dilute solutions of salicylic acid.

The stabilizer compound may be any suitable nitrogen compound thatstabilizes the salicylic acid in the concentrated gel. Nitrogencompounds useful to form the highly concentrated salicylic gel include,but not limited to, alkoxylated amides, alkoxylated amines,alkyl-substituted amino acids, alkylamido alkylamines, amides, amineoxides, amines, and betaines. Ideally, a clear product should beproduced.

In one aspect, the nitrogen compound is cocamidopropyl dimethylamine.The cocamidopropyl dimethylamine is particularly suitable for highconcentrations of salicylic acid. When diluted in water, the resultingsolution is stable and clear.

The concentrated gel can be diluted to any suitable level for use.Dilution of the salicylic acid gel may occur by the addition of water, ashort chain alcohol such as ethanol and isopropanol, or any combinationthereof. Upon dilution, the salicylic acid forms a clear, stablesolution in the water or alcohols—that is, the salicylic acid does notprecipitate out.

For pH evaluation, 95% water was added to 5% of the gel resulting in a2% salicylic acid concentration; the maximum allowed for anti-acneproducts. The same evaluation was run using 92.5% water and 7.5% of thegel (3% active salicylic acid; the maximum allowed for anti-dandruffproducts) and 40% water and 60% of the gel to evaluate for the wartremover monograph. All of these studies resulted in clear, stablesolutions with pH levels between 3 and 4.

The pH of the dilute system is generally less than 5, such as 2 to 5,2.5 to 4.5, typically 3 to 4.

For topical purposes, the dilute system must pass the USP Monograph fora Salicylic Gel which includes an assay for salicylic acid.

The diluted product may be combined with other suitable ingredients toform the final products such as creams, lotions, make-ups, toners,astringents, skin cleansing compositions, shampoos, and conditioners.These compositions contain about 0.1-40 wt % of salicylic acid. Theamount of salicylic acid in the final product depends on the intendedpurpose of the product.

Creams typically contain about 10-90 wt % water and 10-90 wt % oil.Creams may also contain humectants, emollients, surfactants,emulsifiers, preservatives and fragrances. Creams would generallycontain from 0.1 to 5 wt % salicylic acid.

Lotions typically contain 20-80 wt % oil and 10-80 wt % water in anemulsion form. In addition, lotions may contain humectants, emollients,surfactants, fragrances, preservatives and so forth. Creams wouldgenerally contain from 0.2 to 5 wt % salicylic acid.

Make-ups typically contain about 5-70 wt % oil, 10-95 wt % water, andabout 5-40 wt % pigment. In addition, the makeup may containsurfactants, silicones as part of the oil phase, humectants, emollients,preservatives, fragrances, etc. Make-up would generally contain from 0.1to 3 wt % salicylic acid.

Anti-dandruff shampoos typically contain 1-40 wt % of a cleansingsurfactant and 10-90 wt % water. The shampoo may also contain any one ofingredients such as surfactants, colorants, preservatives, fragrance,emulsifiers, viscosity adjusters, and conditioning agents. Anti-dandruffshampoos would generally contain from 0.18 to 3 wt % salicylic acid.

Hair conditioners typically contain include 10-95 wt % water, 0.5-30 wt% conditioning ingredients such as quaternary ammonium compounds oramphoteric polymers, proteins, etc., and 1-40% surfactants. Hairconditioners may also contain volatile or nonvolatile silicones. Hairconditioners would generally contain from 0.1 to 4 wt % salicylic acid.

Toners typically contain about 0-85 wt % alcohol, 0.01-5 wt %surfactant, and 0.1-5 wt % humectants, 0.1-85% water.

The salicylic acid may also be used in ointments, gels, or solutions.Suitable ointments are hydrophilic ointments (USP) or petroleum.

The amount of salicylic acid present in the final product depends on theproduct. For example, acne treatment products generally contain 0.5 to 2wt % salicylic acid, dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis, and psoriasistreatment products generally contain 3 wt % salicylic acid, and warttreatments generally contain up to 40 wt % salicylic acid, typically 5wt % to 40 wt % or 17 wt % to 25 wt %.

EXAMPLE 1

A 40% salicylic acid was blended with 60% cocamidopropyl dimethylamine.The resulting concentrated gel was slightly viscous, clear, and yellow.

The concentrated gel was diluted to 2 wt % active salicylic acid inwater and separately in ethanol. The resulting solutions were clear andcolorless. No precipitate was formed either in water or in ethanol. ThepH of the water solution was approximately 3.2.

Stability tests were then performed on the water solution. Theconcentrated gel and the diluted 2 wt % active salicylic acid solutionwere prepared and subjected to accelerated stability protocol whichconsisted of five freeze/thaw cycles and two weeks in a 50° C. oven.Under both of these conditions there were no significant changes toeither sample. The samples that were frozen were obviously solid whenremoved from the freezer and the 50° C. samples were less viscous. Inboth cases, when the samples returned to room temperature, they wereessentially identical to the control samples. There was no color orviscosity change and no precipitate was formed.

The gel was also diluted to 25 wt % active salicylic acid in water. Theresulting solution was a slightly viscous, yellow, clear solution. Noprecipitate was formed. A physical accelerated stability test was run onthis prototype consisting of samples be held at 50° C. for two weeks andanother sample run through five freeze/thaw cycles. Under both of theseconditions there were no physical changes to the product include pH,viscosity, color and appearance.

EXAMPLE 2

A lotion was prepared with 5% of the gel of example 1 in 91% water with4% Egel 305 [Polyacrylamide (&) C12-13 isoparaffin (&) Laureth-7]. Theresult was a white lotion that would be applicable for an anti-acneproduct. It underwent the same accelerated stability testing asmentioned above (50° C. for 2 weeks and 5 freeze/thaw cycles); therewere no significant physical changes to the product during the stabilitytesting.

EXAMPLE 3

An anti-dandruff shampoo was prepared containing 3 wt % salicylic acid.

Percent Water 36.50 Active ingredient Cocamidopropyl Dimethylamine 7.50(&) Salicylic Acid (Curcylic ® 40) Surfactant blend PEG-80 SorbitanLaurate (&) 50.00 Cocamidopropyl Betaine (&) Sodium Trideceth Sulfate(&) Glycerin (&) Disodium Lauroamphodiacetate (&) PEG-150 Distearate (&)Sodium Laureth-13 Carboxylate (Sulfochem ™ B-NBB) Thickener PEG-120Methyl Glucose Trioleate 5.00 (&) Propylene Glycol (&) Water(Glucamate ™ LT) Preservative Propylene Glycol (&) Diazolidinyl Urea1.00 (&) Methylparaben (&) Propylparaben (Nipaguard PDU) Citric Acid qsto pH 4 100.00%

In an appropriate container, water, and Curcylic® 40 were mixed untiluniform. Sulfochem B-NBB, Glucamate LT and Nipaguard PDU were added andmixed until homogenous. Then citric acid was added, with continuedmixing, until the batch reached pH of approximately 4.0.Viscosity: >1300 cp. Stability: Passed 2 weeks 50° C.; 5 Freeze/Thawcycles.

While the invention has been described with respect to specific examplesincluding presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variationsand permutations of the above described systems and techniques that fallwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

We claim:
 1. A skin care product comprising a. a concentrated salicylicacid gel consisting of at least 30 wt % salicylic acid based on totalweight of the gel and a stabilizing amount of cocamidopropyldimethylamine; and b. a solvent.
 2. The skin care product of claim 1wherein the salicylic acid gel consists of 40 to 55 wt % salicylic acidbased on total weight of the gel.
 3. The skin care product of claim 1wherein the salicylic acid gel consists of 40 to 70 wt % cocamidopropyldimethylamine, based on total weight of the gel.
 4. The skin careproduct of claim 1 wherein the salicylic acid gel consists of 30 to 60wt % salicylic acid based on total weight of the gel.
 5. The skin careproduct of claim 1 wherein the salicylic acid gel consists of 45 to 60wt % cocamidopropyl dimethylamine, based on total weight of the gel. 6.The skin care product of claim 1 wherein the solvent is water, ethanol,isopropanol, or any combination thereof wherein the salicylic acid formsa clear, stable solution in the solvent.
 7. The skin care product ofclaim 1 selected from the group consisting of creams, lotions, make-ups,toners, astringents, skin cleansing compositions, shampoos, andconditioners.
 8. The skin care product of claim 1 selected from thegroup consisting of ointments, gels, and solutions.
 9. The skin careproduct of claim 1 wherein the salicylic acid is present in the finalproduct in an amount to treat acne, dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis,psoriasis, or warts.
 10. The skin care product of claim 1 wherein theskin care product is an acne treatment product and the concentratedsalicylic acid gel provides 0.5 to 2 wt % salicylic acid based on totalweight of the product.
 11. The skin care product of claim 1 wherein theskin care product is a wart treatment product and the concentratedsalicylic acid gel provides 5 to 40 wt % salicylic acid based on totalweight of the product.
 12. The skin care product of claim 8 wherein theconcentrated salicylic acid gel provides 17 to 25 wt % salicylic acidbased on total weight of the product.
 13. The skin care product of claim1 wherein the skin care product is a lotion and the concentratedsalicylic acid gel provides 0.2 to 5 wt % salicylic acid based on totalweight of the product.
 14. The skin care product of claim 1 wherein theskin care product is an anti-dandruff shampoo and the concentratedsalicylic acid gel provides 1.8 to 3 wt % salicylic acid based on totalweight of the product.